Packing even with top of the bowl?

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64alex

Part of the Furniture Now
May 10, 2016
566
339
When packing do you flatten the surface of the tobacco even with the top of the bowl or do you leave some free space at the top? Reason is because initially I was going to pack even at the top but now I realized that leaving some free space at the top of the bowl it is less likely charring the rim of the bowl

 

ophiuchus

Lifer
Mar 25, 2016
1,557
2,052
Not necessarily a rule; I tend to fill to a little under a quarter inch below the rim, for no particular reason. :puffy:

 
Jan 8, 2013
7,493
733
It just seemed natural to me, when I first packed a pipe, to leave a little room at the top for two reasons... to protect the rim, and to help prevent a hot ember falling out of the pipe.

 

didimauw

Moderator
Staff member
Jul 28, 2013
9,894
31,626
34
Burlington WI
I like to over fill my pipes. Makes me feel better about myself. :puffpipe: I don't mind the lava over flow. One light tamp and your even with the bowl.

 

madox07

Lifer
Dec 12, 2016
1,823
1,689
I don't have a rule of thumb - just depends on the moment. Sometimes I fill it all the way up, sometimes I leave some space. I never experienced amber falling out of the pipe, but then again I never overfill. With some shapes I find that filling all the way to the rim makes an easier lighting experience ..

 

aimlesswanderer

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 25, 2016
211
2
I usually pack to within around 3-5mm of the top. I still manage to char the rim of the bowl and lose a few glowing fragments over the rim as the tobacco expands, but then those aspects of the pipe don't phase me as much as they do others.

 

toobfreak

Lifer
Dec 19, 2016
1,365
7
Depends on the pipe and the tobacco. If I don't want to char the edge, I fill a little below. It is all going to expand back up anyway, but then I usually use my box of matches to press it down flat again with the top. When I tamp with my finger, I tend to press it down a little lower along the wall on the first tamp leaving it up higher in the middle.

 

jabo

Can't Leave
Jan 26, 2016
321
1
I'm with Cosmic on this one. If you are a true pipe smoker,pile it ovèr the top. Works for me ! ;-)

 

mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,385
7,295
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
Cube cut and coarsely rubbed out flakes are notorious for trying to climb out of the bowl once lit so I tend to leave a few mm space to allow for this.
This happens less with ribbon or shag cut blends in my experience.
Regards,
Jay.

 
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